Penn State men’s soccer (6-5-4, 3-2-3 Big Ten) snuck past Michigan (4-10-3, 1-6-1 Big Ten) 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor to finish its regular season.

Van Danielson found the back of the net twice for Nittany Lions, however, it was Andrew Privett’s goal in the 75th minute that decided the outcome of the game.

How It Happened

After four minutes of uneventful play, the Wolverines had the first scoring chance when they were awarded a corner kick. Brennan Callow took the kick and sailed it into the middle of the box. Bryce Blevins popped the ball up into the air with his head and Nolan Miller hit it square with his forehead and into the bottom left corner of the net for the first goal of the game.

Just two short minutes later, Nicholas Kaloukian tried to extend the lead to two, but his shot went just wide of the net.

Penn State had its first scoring chance when midfielder Seth Kuhn fired a shot on goal, but it was easily saved and collected by Hayden Evans in the 13th minute.

After 10 minutes of zero action, Wolverine Cameron Martin found himself with a clean look on the goal, but he launched his shot way over Kris Shakes’ net and out of play.

At the 30-minute mark, Matthew Henderson dribbled his way through Wolverine defenders and crossed a pass to the other side of the field to a driving Andrew Privett. Privett collected the pass and fired a shot on the net, but it went wide of the right goalpost.

Shortly after, Nicholas Cassiday had a chance when he took a shot in the middle of the box, but Shakes was able to punch it away and out of bounds. The Wolverines didn’t make much of their corner attempt as the Nittany Lions’ defense quickly gained control and forced the ball downfield.

At the 39-minute mark, Peter Mangione was awarded a free kick on the far right side of the field. He placed the ball right in the middle of the box, but no Penn Staters collected it as the ball rolled out of bounds for a Michigan goal kick.

Two minutes later, Kuhn had another opportunity on net, but his shot was punched away by Evans. The Wolverines marched down the field and Derick Broche ripped a shot to the bottom right corner of the net, but Shakes prevented the ball from crossing the posts.

The Nittany Lions were awarded a corner with just 15 seconds left in the first half but were unsuccessful in their attempt. The score remained in Michigan’s favor to end the half, and it also registered more shots than Penn State.

Van Danielson started things off for Penn State in the second half as he dribbled his way into the box and snuck a shot past Evans to tie the game just over one minute into the second half.

Seven minutes later, Danielson found the back of the net again as Alex Stevenson set him up with the pass and he finished it off with a snipe to the top right corner of the net.

At the 56-minute mark, Quin Rogers rocketed a shot right on goal, but Shakes punched it away to force a corner kick. The Wolverines capitalized on their attempt as Miller tapped the crossing pass into the net to tie the game back up at two all.

Stevenson found himself on a breakaway opportunity, but he lost control of the ball before getting a shot off as Evans easily corralled the ball in favor of the Wolverines. Michigan countered and was awarded a corner kick. Jason Burknor had a clean look on net, but Shakes read the shot and hauled it in.

In the 64th minute, the Wolverines were granted back-to-back corners but couldn’t capitalize. Just five minutes later, both Mangione and Sean Bettenhausen rifled shots on goal, but Evans made use of his gloves and punched them both away.

Privett took the lead for Penn State in the 75 minutes of the match. It was started by Henderson who took the ball down the far side of the field and crossed the ball over to Privett. Privett collected the ball and punched it over the head of Evans and into the back of the net for the Nittany Lions’ first lead of the match.

Michigan kept up the intensity to finish off the game, but a stout Nittany Lions’ defense prevented most shots from getting to Shakes. With a second left of the clock, Broche had a wide-open shot on the net, but he whiffed on the shot and the buzzer sounded to end the game.

Takeaways:

• Nolan Miller and Van Danielson each had two goals today and all were impressive. Miller started the scoring off using his forehead and his second goal was a chip shot over Shakes. Danielson’s first goal came at a crucial time for the Nittany Lions as they kicked off the second half. He followed suit with a snipe towards the top right corner after a beautiful cross from Stevenson.

• It was a tale of two halves today in Ann Arbor. Michigan dominated the first half. They put up six shots and held Penn State to just one goal. However, Penn State came out with an early goal in the second half and limited opportunities that the Wolverines were getting in the first half. They even registered six more shots in the second half than in the opening 45 minutes. Fortunately enough for Penn State, it picked the right half to get hot.

• The end is finally here. The record may not say a lot, but this team has the potential to go far in the Big Ten Tournament. Time will only tell, but the Nittany Lions will hope to defend the title when tournament play starts up later this week.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will await their seeding in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament which starts Friday, November 4.